Dark Skies
by God In Birds
Summary: When you're ten, they call you a prodigy. When you're fifteen, they call you a genius. Once you hit twenty, you're just an ordinary person. There's something about growing up that terrifies everyone. Akuroku, Roxas POV, AU, possible lemon, and possible side pairings.
1. Prologue

_Dark Skies_

_Chapter One – Prologue_

"There's nothing you can do, so take your condolences and go."

A long drag and a pause. Some footsteps.

"What did I say? Get the fuck out." Anger filtered through his tired voice.

Smoke clouded his face as it escaped through his chapped lips.

"Axel."

"What?" He turned to the familiar feminine sound.

"She wants to speak to you."

"Oh." He murmured.

He butted a piece of his addiction on the ledge then muttered a poor excuse for an apology and stepped past the nurse.

The sheer brightness of the place made Axel sick. He didn't like the bleak whites and the starchy sheets. He thought she should be home with him, not here. Not in a depressing place surrounded with sickness and death. A child shouldn't grow up here.

Though the redhead wished for her to come home, he didn't have the knowledge to take care of her. Nor did he have the money. One could only dream bringing home the missing part of himself and that's all he did. Dream.

Repetitive beeping echoed in the hall and some of the staff rushed to the source, which happened to be in front of Axel himself. He glanced in the room they had been called to only to see a patient lying still in his bed. He kept walking.

There was something about adapting to this atmosphere that killed him on the inside. Being immune to emotion when death was around you made you hate yourself for not feeling a damn thing and it's exactly how he was. He didn't like himself and he sometimes wished he wasn't here, but that's not his fault. It's no one's fault.

Axel made it to the right ward and wasn't too far from her room now. When he walked in, she smiled and his day got brighter. She was his light. Little did Axel know, he was her light too.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter may be edited a lot if this doesn't go the way I have planned.**


	2. Shit-tastic

_Dark Skies_

_Chapter Two - Shit-tastic_

I hate public transportation. Specifically buses. Paying for a ride that included sweaty strangers and small seats did not appeal to me in any way. When I turned into a freshman and I had to ride buses that could be boarded by anybody. I took the alternative and walked a few miles to my house every day.

So you can imagine my enthusiasm when a friend suggested a ride to his place via bus ride. I could have walked, but knowing Hayner, he would have walked to his house with me. I saved him the trip and dealt with it. It was only a few minutes anyways.

"You see Pence today?" The wavy blond asked over the crowd.

"Nope." I yelled back.

"Damn, he was supposed to be here." He said, disappointed.

"You think he skipped?" I asked.

"I don't know. I'll call him when we get to my house."

The ride was uneventful. We gave up on talking. Students were shouting over at one another and I checked that on the list of reasons to hate buses. Once we reached our destination, Hayner pulled out his cell phone and pressed a few numbers before he put the device to his ear.

"Yo, Pence. You didn't skip the last day of high school. Did you, buddy?" He interrogated.

"You sound like shit. What happened?" The blond asked, firing questions away.

"Ah, you didn't stick any needles in your arm. Right?" He joked.

"I'm just fucking with you, dude. Calm down." There was a pause on his side.

"Alright, man. I'll see you later." He said, dragging his thumb along the screen to end the call. He looked at me nonchalantly stated "He's sick".

"Wow, what a time to get sick." I complained.

Tomorrow night was the night Hayner was throwing his senior end of the year party. Last year it was the junior end of the year party and so on. Everyone knew about these parties and everyone knew that there would be free alcohol. The combination of my friend's popularity and refreshments at no cost, drew high school students like gay men to a Celine Dion concert. It didn't matter if they woke up with a killer headache or a used condom stuck to their leg, they just want to live in the moment.

I was no exception. I didn't give a shit. I wanted to get as drunk as I could and make out with a girl whose name I didn't bother remembering. I didn't want to have a care in the damn world. I wanted to be free from adulthood before it came.

Hayner moved into the kitchen and gestured for me to follow him. It wasn't much of a kitchen in itself. More like a hallway with appliances. I shouldn't expect much from a one bedroom apartment. It's what my father would call a commoner's home. The party host, however, preferred it to be 'The Bachelor Pad'. He said it was complete with a balcony and temporarily clean shit bowl.

His parents, who happened to be sizable assholes, paid rent for this shabby place. I say assholes because they never attended to their sons. They always had a nanny on the job. She fed and raised that boy and I have a respect for that woman like no one else. Fuck his parents.

"You think I have enough stocked for tomorrow?"

"Whoa!"I exclaimed.

He had opened his fridge to reveal tons of beer stacked on shelves and in the door. On the highest and biggest shelf there was soda and other mixing bases for softies. He stepped back with a smug look and swung the freezer door around. Inside, there were stronger liquors such as vodka, gin, and whiskey for shots.

"How the hell do you get your hands on all this and where is all your food?"

I swung my arm out to the alcohol for emphasis.

He chuckled in response.

"Don't worry about it."

I shrugged and let it slide. I wasn't going to be some dickweed and pry about such a trivial subject. We all had our sources and that was that. There is one thing though, I'm hungry and I want some fucking food.

"No, seriously. Where's your food?"

"The cabinets and the mini fridge in my bedroom." He answered, leaving the culinary hallway.

I didn't even say thank you. When you're in a committed friendship, there was no reason to thank each other unless it was absolutely necessary. Just a facial expression or a simple gesture could communicate the appreciation that one felt, but that's not always the case. Over time, you develop some weird telepathy thing and you can sense what the other feels. That's how him and I work. That's how we live.

I dug through most of the cabinets and I checked out the mini fridge too. When I was satisfied with my findings, I took a seat next to him on his worn down couch in the living room. He had turned on a 1980's romance movie that was already half way done on a small television. My friend was already packing a bong for us to smoke and it wasn't long before he lit it and took the first hit.

The familiar smoke wafted through the air. The movies suddenly became interesting and I paid close attention to it. We silently ate cheese puffs together. Both of us were in utter awe of this shit-tastic movie. When it ended, we looked at each other and laughed a little bit. Hayner presented some ideas for his party. He thought we should have a piñata tied up in the center of the living room so people could whack it open and feed on whatever comes out like wild animals. I disagreed and suggested putting a trampoline somewhere in his apartment.

Within the first hour of me pitching crazy ideas, I was getting sleepy. I checked my phone for the time and it was around 6:30. I wasn't exactly full yet. I had the perfect solution and it was possibly the best thing that came out of my mouth since I was born.

"Let's go get some McDonalds."


	3. Fuck Odd Numbers

_Dark Skies_

_Chapter Three – Fuck Odd Numbers_

The girl at drive-thru was a bitch. She forgot the napkins, straws, and one of the eight McChickens we had ordered. Now the number was uneven and it pissed me off to no end. Who the hell orders an odd amount of chicken sandwiches? Not Roxas.

Hayner later confessed that he had stuffed one in his mouth in the car and was planning on eating the odd sandwich out. Naturally, I gently punched him the gut and demanded that he throw it up for punishment. He refused since he wanted to keep his place clean.

I had eaten four McChickens and a medium fry. My stomach was crying in pain and I pat it to make it feel better. My body was slowly moving down into a lying down position on my friend's sofa and he noticed. I was staring at the ceiling when he came back with a scratchy blanket and a flat ass pillow. I thanked him for tucking me in like mommy did before he wandered off to his room and I crashed.

I woke up the next morning with the killer urge to piss. That being the only motivation for me to get out of bed, I rolled off the couch and groaned for Hayner to drag me to the bathroom and lift my dick up so I could release my fluids. He replied with a far away 'no'. It made me laugh, which did not help my current situation. I raised myself up and stumbled to the toilet down the hall.

I played the aiming game and washed my hands afterward. I made a small breakfast because of the massive amount of food I ate from the night before. One bowl of cereal later, the soon to be party host was calling me to help him move stuff in and out of rooms.

We left the couch, some scattered chairs, the stereo system, and the television there, but everything else was stored in his bedroom closet. From the closet, we pulled out one large and one little collapsible table to set in the living room. The big table was for beer pong and other activities. The tiny table was for any foods that Hayner decided to leave out of the guests. Anyone was welcome to fridge full of beer, but the freezer was off limits. Shot races were saved for later.

We dressed both tables with plastic covers and he put out some snacks while I got the key to lock the balcony door. The balcony has never really been a problem. There's only been a few people who had wanted to go out there, but due to obvious safety reasons we couldn't let them do that. Drunk people and heights should never mix. We didn't want to be some irresponsible dead kid that ends up on the local news for a day because our brains were splattered on the asphalt below. It's morbid, but true.

I admired the choice my friend had for food. He had poured pretzels, cheese puffs, potato chips, miniature cookies, and various other snacks into different bowls. I applauded him before I helped transport the goods onto the respective tabletop. Once everything was moved and set up for the party, we looked at each other. I flashed a thumbs up and he returned a grin.

We sat and bantered on the sofa with beers in our hands for a while. We bitched about life and how shitty it's going to be as we drank. We were interrupted by a knock on the front door. It turned out to be Olette. She was early like always. She smiled warmly before pulling Hayner into an embrace.

"Whoa, babe. Don't make me spill my drink."

"Asshole. I haven't seen you in forever."

"You mean since yesterday?" He asked rhetorically. It didn't matter anyway, Olette was already running towards me.

"Roxas! You're already here?"

"Yeah, I helped set this shit up." I boasted, gesturing towards the bowls of food.

"Nice. You guys did a good job fixing this place up." She ruffled my hair like my mother used to.

"You saying my apartment was shitty?" Hayner was mock-offended and his girlfriend played along.

"Yes, I am. The shittiest." She admitted.

"And I'm the asshole? I didn't come into your home and bitch about it!" The brunette rolled her eyes and kissed him.

Olette's other half got her a beer and served it to her like a gentleman should. It wasn't long before other guests were filing in after her. I recognized a few faces that shuffled through the doorway. I saw that Sora and Riku made it. They always ended up spooning when they were drunk and I took pictures every time they did. I probably could have made a scrap book of just them spooning if I wanted to.

Xion and Naminé arrived together. I assumed they carpooled so Xion could help Naminé talk to people during the party. The blonde had some sort of problem with speaking to people. Don't get me wrong, she's a good person. She's just introverted when she's sober.

Demyx showed up with someone I've never seen. The guy was really lanky and he had some crazy red hair that was spiked backwards. It was pretty wicked and I complimented him on it. He thanked me before moving to the fridge for some alcohol. I'll be revisiting that one later tonight. I want to know how many times he has to dye his hair a year.

The party started moving once everyone had a drink in their hand and music was playing throughout the house. I put some red plastic cups on the big table and filled each one with a little bit of beer. I reachieved ping pong balls from one of the kitchen cabinets and fired up a game of beer pong. I didn't join the game, but guests seemed to be doing fine without me.

I didn't see the host much that night. I spent my time mingling with strangers and dancing with random people. I told jokes and sipped from an endless bottle. Then I remembered there was a certain redhead that I had to talk to. I searched for him in the crowd and it was easy to spot him. He was on the couch, eating some pizza that must have been ordered sometime throughout the night.

Demyx was sitting next to him, but he seemed to be interested in a wasted Naminé. She was babbling about inner beauty or some shit, I don't know.

"You mind if I have a seat?" I yelled over the music and conversation.

"Be my guest."


	4. Nothing's Gonna Harm You

**A/N: I absolutely drea****d author's notes and I try to avoid writing them, but I couldn't help myself this time. Special thanks to my homi****e, ****Manami Nightray, for keeping it real. Leave me some reviews because God knows I need them. I also apologize for this installment of Dark Skies. I suck at dialogue. The end.**

* * *

_Dark Skies_

_Chapter Four – Nothing's Gonna Harm You_

His voice was as smooth as a baby's ass. His eyes were shining emeralds. His hair was the shade of a firetruck. His clothing was simple and gave off the minimum of personality. He dawned a plain black jacket that was unzipped to reveal a wrinkled white shirt. His pants and shoes were also black with splashes of white here and there. He wore a few silver rings on his digits. I could see a section of a tattoo on his right wrist. Of what? I don't know. All I know is that Axel is quite the fascinating individual.

We sat on that couch for what seemed like hours, taking turns getting each other beer from our source and eating pizza. Xion dragged Demyx and Naminé away from us sometime during the night. I had barely noticed.

"Dude, fuck pepperoni pizza. It's so boring. Pepperoni doesn't even deserve a fancy name like that." The redhead said, eating another slice of the very same pizza he was talking about.

"I don't know, man. It's hella tasty." I argued.

"A real man enjoys a pizza with no sauce, cheese, or toppings. Stop being such a pussy, Roxas." He teased and look another sip of his drink.

"Wouldn't that just be bread? You're a bigger tard then I first thought, Axel." I bantered back.

"What? A man can't share his philosophy without being called a tard?" He sounded mock-offended.

"Not you." I chuckled.

"Well, I never. I thought this was a free fucking country." He continued his act.

"Free enough for me to call you a tard." I shot back.

"Touché. You're good." He said, praising my skills.

"Good? I'm an expert." Axel raised a thin brow.

"Oh, yeah? Tell me, did you go to school for smart ass remarks? Are you good at anything else besides bad sex jokes and making fun of me?"

"I tell dick jokes, not sex jokes. Get it right." I corrected.

"I'm sorry for misinterpreting your spectacular humor, master." He bowed to me.

"I'm not your master," I said. Then I decided to add "not yet."

"But you want to be."

"I didn't say that." I replied defensibly.

"You're thinking it." He insisted.

"Okay, you got me. I need some more whip training though."

"I'm sure an amateur could handle this."

"You saying you're easy?"

"Selectively."

"Interesting."

I took one last swig of my beverage before sitting it down on the coffee table in front of us and standing up stiffly. Axel looked at me with those harlequin orbs of his and I could see every unsaid question in them. All I offered was a hand and he took it after placing his bottle next to mine. I was leading him back to the bedroom and if you know me then you know what I'm doing. I wanted his dick in my alcohol scented mouth this instant. My intoxicated and horny self always got the best of me. The weird thing is, I'm not even gay. This man is just universally attractive to every gender and I've never met someone with a talent like this.

I dragged him down to the end of the hall and we were getting stares. The redhead didn't seem to mind them. The only thing that he asked was if I was eighteen and I replied with a honest yes. It was refreshing for a person to understand my intentions.

I leaned against the bedroom door to listen for any signs of a couple getting busy. I heard none and I swung open the door to a few people smoking pot. I was in the middle of telling them to get the fuck out so I can get laid when a loud girlish scream from the living room interrupted me. I let go of Axel's hand and poked my head out of the door I came through moments ago. I could see people staring off into the right, which was in the direction of the balcony.

I sprinted away from my lay and the potheads. I had to shove and curse my way through the crowd to see what was up. I could tell that the balcony door was opened and everyone was looking down below them. Once I noticed that, I straight up pushed girls out of my way so I could see what kind of drunk jackass thought it would be a good idea to play on a poorly secured platform that was elevated thirteen stories high.

I met up with Olette on the balcony by herself. There was an abandoned red plastic cup by her side. She was looking at her feet with this shocked and paranoid expression like she had killed someone.

"Olette, it's Roxas. Are you okay? What happened?" I frantically shouted.

She couldn't speak. She only let out a choked sound and pointed to the ground, never taking her eyes off her feet. I carefully leaned over the rusty railing and checked out what was so terrifying. Then I saw him. Him with his stupid fucking camouflage shorts.

Hayner.

I gasped for air and choked like Olette did. I stumbled backwards and gripped the handle of the sliding glass door behind me. When I turned to face all the guests, I could feel my face draining. They were silent and waited for me to find my words. I walked back into the living room, leaving the door open. I centered myself in the crowd and put on a blank expression.

"He's dead."

Suddenly, I was sober. A whisper was all it took. Olette broke and begun crying once my words had hit her. However, everyone else started to bolt for the door. If the police showed up, they didn't want to be caught with alcohol. I stood there and let the assholes bump into me as they ran for cover. If I had the mind to, I would have screamed at how much each and every one of them were cunts. I would have told them that Hayner was a human being and he need to be treated like one, but I couldn't. They scurried like the cockroaches they are.

All that was left was Olette, Demyx, Riku, Sora, Axel, and me. Apparently, one of us had come up with an idea and was putting it in motion. I was being yelled at, but my ears were ringing too loudly for me to hear. My brain had lost the function to think and I was just standing there in the middle of a dirty apartment.

They needed my help because Olette was too emotionally stricken to deal with anything right now. Demyx came up and slapped my face after Axel tried to fruitlessly snap me out of my daze with noisy instructions.

I didn't speak, I just did. I was assigned the job to check on the body with Sora. Both him and I sprang down the indoor fire escape. My brunette friend attempted to encourage me with a few 'maybe he's not dead' lines. I wasn't buying it and neither was he. He was wasting his breath.

I reached Hayner in the ally first. I slid to his body to see the damage. It was bad. Really bad. He was lying face down in a puddle. His head was split open and his brains were visible. Pieces of the organ were scattered around him. Blood gushed from his head because it had nothing else to do. This was its last job.

My first response was to gasp. My hand flew up to my gaping mouth and my eyes started to get teary. I closed my eyes and turned away from the sight. I struggled to keep my sobs inside and Sora noticed this. He put a hand on my shoulder for comfort and muttered a sad sorry.

Despite my emotions, I brushed Sora off of me and ran back to the body. Grabbing Hayner's wrist, I made a last promise.

"I'm so fucking sorry. I should have looked after you. You wouldn't be dead if I wasn't so fucked up tonight. You would still be alive and happy with Olette if I hadn't wasted my time talking to that redheaded son of a bitch. It's only been a few minutes, but I already miss you, dude. I'm so sorry, Hayner. I'm never going to drink again."


End file.
